Since the mid-1980's many companies have tried to develop and produce digital projectors based on liquid crystal display technology. InFocus®, Inc. is the acknowledged leader in digital projection and was a pioneer in mobile projection technology. As a result of their efforts, table-top portable projectors have become commonplace in the arsenal of tools available to professionals needing to present information to groups of people. Indeed, According to International Data Corporation, the microportable projector category is expected to more than double in 2001, with approximately 335,000 units expected to sell worldwide this year. A number of innovations and technology advancements have come together to reduce the size and weight of projectors while simultaneously increasing the brightness and resolution of these portable devices. Those factors, combined with a growing number of mobile professionals, have rapidly shifted projectors from specialty items to essential business tools.
Early efforts in this area resulted in projectors that were very large, boxy, and quite heavy, often on the order of 15-20 pounds. In addition, resolution was suspect, and the devices were incapable of displaying video speed information. Over the intervening years, these devices have become much smaller, with the current state of the art, as of June 2001, being a three-pound digital projector representing a new benchmark in projector portability. To illustrate the rapid miniaturization of this product, it is 40 percent smaller than the most popular product it replaces.
In addition to portability, there are other features of such systems that make them desirable. For example, the brightness of the display, often expressed in lumens per pound, is a critical feature that is sought after by consumers. State of the art products offer 1100 lumens of brightness, which converts into over 365 lumens per pound. This, coupled with multimedia functionality and XGA resolution make such devices ideal for the education, government and other markets. With growing commercial acceptance, it stands to reason that such devices will soon enter new markets such as home entertainment
The growing acceptance of such devices also makes it likely that at some point they will become part of networking projection systems that connect multiple conference rooms in a single facility, thus enabling group collaboration. Such networked devices could also provide Internet and network access as well as network management capabilities. Likewise, such devices are currently hardwired to the video source, thus providing greater connectivity options and developing wireless projection systems that seamlessly transmit data and video will improve the value and usability of such devices.
Notwithstanding the success of the current products, they have largely reached the logical end of the drive to miniaturization so long as the current table-top box paradigm is followed. This is due to the inescapable conclusion that there are limits to how small a package can be while still housing the LCD projection screen, lighting assembly, cooling mechanics, and associated electronics and connections. Accordingly, there exists a need for a new approach to portable digital display systems which does not rely upon the need to put the lighting system into the same structure as the LCD projection screen. These and other advantages of the instant invention will be set forth herein.